Probiotic brand for kids?

[minnie1012]

Hi I was wondering if anyone could recommend a probiotic brand for kids? My dd is currently taking Culturelle and its not really helping. Someone recommended Sustenex but they seem to have changed their name and formula and now it contains sorbitol and other sugars that bother her stomach. Has anyone had luck with another brand?

Thanks!

 

[jsmith]

how about lacto-fermented veggies like home made sourkraut or gingered carrots, home fermented yogurt, kombacha, kefir or some other natural source of healing bacteria?

 

[DLgal]

What are you trying to fix?

Different probiotics will help with different issues.

I like Schiff Intensive Bowel Support.

For my kids, though, just good quality yogurt daily and some fiber gummies daily keep them regular.

If your daughter is having loose stools, I'd probably get that checked out by a doctor to rule out anything medical.

 

[Jewel3k]

I just started giving my 4 year old these. Jarrow Formulations Yum Yum Dophilus

He has constipation issues. He seems more regular after 2 weeks on them.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Instead of the brand, pay attention to how many billion units per serving. It is actually good to switch up brands every once in a while so you can get different strains, but the brand must contain enough bugs per serving to make a difference. I like Jarrow, but right now we are all taking Culturelle. Some more popular brands only contain 1-2 billion which is worthless, it's cheaper to just eat yogurt. I also recommend cultured food like yogurt, kefir, and kombucha.

 

[minnie1012]

Thanks everyone. She sees a GI doctor but he so far can not seem to find the cause of her stomach issues. She complains a lot of a stomach ache and some does cries in pain. She also has some food allergies. We have been to 2 GI doctors and 2 allergists. She doesn't have loose stools and she goes everyday. She is closer to constipation than loose. He wants her to eat Activia but I have a hard time getting her to eat it. He told me to try Probiotics but didn't recommend a brand. So I thought I would try another brand since we have been on the Culturelle for over 6 months and she still has stomach issues.

Thanks!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Thanks everyone. She sees a GI doctor but he so far can not seem to find the cause of her stomach issues. She complains a lot of a stomach ache and some does cries in pain. She also has some food allergies. We have been to 2 GI doctors and 2 allergists. She doesn't have loose stools and she goes everyday. She is closer to constipation than loose. He wants her to eat Activia but I have a hard time getting her to eat it. He told me to try Probiotics but didn't recommend a brand. So I thought I would try another brand since we have been on the Culturelle for over 6 months and she still has stomach issues.

Thanks!

How many billion are in the Culturelle?

 

[woodkins]

We used ThreeLac for many years.

 

[KPetty725]

How many billion are in the Culturelle?

1.5 billion

 

[kidshop]

I like primadophilus Reuteri by nature's way. They make several different kinds.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

1.5 billion

I am not a doctor....but that is not enough to make a difference. This what I was told (by a midwife, and being a grown woman I started with 10 billion)...take one per day and if that doesn't help add one, then keep adding one pill every few days until you feel a difference. If you get diarrhea cut back, and that is how many you should take for a daily maintenance dose. If you have a bacterial infection or are taking antibiotics you will need more probiotic to make a difference. By comparison most yogurt brands contain 5-7 billion per serving. I take 30 billion per day, or up to 75 when I am sick.

Edit: is that the Culturelle for little kids? My kids are 2 and 5 (30 and 37 lbs) and they take the chewable Culturelle for big kids, I think those are 5 billion, in addition to yogurt every day.

Edit 2: I just googled how much probiotic in activia and it came up 5-10 billion. If that's what the doctor recommends, that's how much probiotic I would give her. You can space it out throughout the day.

Edit 3: When talking about probiotic counts in pills, you also need to realize that not all of them are alive by the time you take them. The number on the bottle is how many they start out with (I have seen some brands that say guaranteed X billion live cultures and I assume they start out with more). Refrigerated probiotics are better than shelf. Even if you buy them off the shelf, keep them in the fridge.

 

[Bilberry]

I've seen some that follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which is a probiotic rich diet designed for those with bowel issues, will purchase probiotics from Freeda vitamins for their kids. This is what's bought I believe ~

http://www.freedavitamins.com/index.php?p=product&id=326&parent=12

If the probiotic doesn't help as well as hoped, recall this article on Dr. Briffa's sight. It's about constipation relief from avoiding dairy & also on a study showing taking to much fiber can cause C problems also in kids.

"Could dairy products be the cause of some children’s constipation?"

http://www.drbriffa.com/2013/03/15/could-dairy-products-be-the-cause-of-some-childrens-constipation/

 

[Snoozan]

We have Kids Probiotics Ultimate Flora with 3 billion by Renew Life. No artificial sweetners, flavors or colors and are berry flavored.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

You need something with a high CFU count that is refrigerated. Nothing beats these guys:

Bio-K is good, but I wouldn't give 50 billion to a kid who has been getting 1.5. Slowly work your way up and stop if she gets diarrhea or any worse pain.

 

[Bungle]

I like primadophilus Reuteri by nature's way. They make several different kinds.

These are fantastic.